Love So Deep
by august gem
Summary: After years of warring against demons and humans alike, Sesshomaru decides to return to the only place in the world that holds his heart and soul.


**Love So Deep**

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. I want to, but I don't.

After years of warring against demons and humans alike, Sesshomaru decides to return to the only place in the world that holds his heart and soul.

**Chapter 1: Missing Her**

It was a warm and sunny afternoon and the wind blew gently past the green fields. Birds flew freely above and the glistening water below gurgled soothingly in the nearby stream. It was a good, beautiful day.

Suddenly, a shriek of pain echoed throughout the land.

Shouts. Sprays of blood everywhere. Swords clashing and falling from limp, lifeless hands. Only after a few minutes, the pungent smell of human blood permeated the stale air as death swiftly shrouded the entire courtyard with a veil of marked silence.

Standing atop the highest tower, Sesshomaru surveyed the dead bodies all over the castle's courtyard with obvious disinterest. Fools.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" a familiar high-pitched sound cried out from below. Jaken.

Without even the slightest acknowledgement to his loyal vassal, Sesshomaru jumped down unto the ground and strolled out towards the gate. As expected, Jaken shrieked and hurriedly kept up behind, babbling unimportant matters.

Just as they neared the gate, a soldier in full silver armor bowed before them, "Lord Sesshomaru, we found several human captives within the castle, reportedly captured from nearby villages. What shall we do with them?"

As if on cue, helpless cries of women reverberated from within the main hall. Some pleaded for their lives, some sobbed in fear and some cried in despair. A fraction of a frown marred Sesshomaru's brows as the sound seem to magnify by the second. He hated that sound.

Jaken, attuned to the slightest movement of his master, quickly took over, "Stupid fool. How dare you inconvenience our lord with inconsequential matters! Ever since Lord Sesshomaru took over the Western Lands, he had already decreed that all enemy relations especially women and children shall be dealt with mercy. Have you forgotten this, Captain?"

The soldier bowed lower, his tone repentant, "I apologize Master Jaken, however I have been told that the villages from where the captives were taken had already been razed to the ground. There were no survivors. As these women have nowhere to go, should we then take them in as slaves or leave them be?"

Before any response can be made, a commotion within the main hall caught their attention. One of the women with both arms and feet chained wrestled with one of the soldiers to steal his sword. The soldier was caught by surprise but easily won the tug-of-war. With a quick wave of his arm, the woman was tossed afar and slammed against a pillar, falling down crouched in pain.

Angered, the soldier held up his sword and advanced towards the woman. As the sword swung down, a fierce aura suddenly swept over the hall and tossed the soldier back to his place. The soldier fell on his back but quickly sat up and searched for his new enemy, jerking his head towards the door where he sensed the powerful aura came from. Sesshomaru met his angry gaze squarely as he stood quietly just inside the open doors.

"Forgive me, my lord," the soldier scrambled to his knees and bowed.

Sesshomaru swept a glance of disgust over the weeping women in front of him and looked to the fallen woman by the pillar. The said woman quickly scrambled back up, heaving in pain but otherwise quiet. Her eyes were watchful and bravely meeting his gaze.

A woman in her twenties with big brown eyes and dark long disheveled hair frivolously tied to a quick knot. Her lips were dry and split, and her feeble body struggled just to keep herself on her feet. Her ragged kosode was as dirty as the rest of her, yet she seemed comfortable in it. Just like his Rin when he first met her.

Suddenly, the image of his beautiful wife smiling sweetly flashed in his mind.

The woman frowned as he stared at her. The image disappeared and Sesshomaru was pulled back to his senses. With a grunt, he turned around and walked back out, "leave them to live or die. What they do is none of my concern."

"But my lord, what of the castle?" the captain asked.

"Leave it," Sesshomaru replied with finality, silencing any further question or objection.

As much as he wanted to question the rationality of leaving an entire estate in the hands of mere village women, he knew better than to voice out his objection. Sesshomaru, son of the Great Dog General Toga, is not a man to trifle with. His outstanding Daiyokai lineage aside, stories of his battles and achievements have already been making their rounds all over the land for more than 30 years, striking fear and awe into the hearts of many. Naturally, this includes all of them under his command.

"Jaken."

Hearing his master's summon, Jaken quickly positioned himself right behind his master, "Yes, my lord?"

"By the river bend at sundown."

Jaken stopped on his tracks and bowed, "Understood, my lord."

In the next second, the mighty lord disappeared from plain sight.

Still in awe from the display of remarkable speed, the captain continuously stared at the spot where Sesshomaru vanished as he spoke, "what did he mean, Master Jaken?"

Jaken has always carried his privilege as Sesshomaru's right-hand man like a badge of honor, and this time was no exception. With puffed chest and chin up in the air, he replied proudly, "None of your concern, Captain. That is a code only shared to a selected few. Now clean this mess up and move along. The rest of the soldiers are to return to the palace for further orders."

The captain was completely unimpressed with this small demon's pomposity. Being a soldier of position, he has been privy on some information of the palace's inner workings, and from all accounts, the demon imp has been unanimously acknowledged as the lord's personal servant. He may appear high and mighty in front of company, but everyone is aware of the difficult life he has at Lord Sesshomaru's side. As annoying as he may be, his position and loyalty do deserve at least some consideration. With that in mind, the captain bowed dutifully and quickly went away.

Jakal, on the other hand, was overjoyed with the thought of earning such respect from the commander. Maybe one day, Lord Sesshomaru will provide him with his own troop. Nothing too fancy, maybe just a few guards and maybe also some escorts…

000

"_My Lord! You're back!" _

_As he had expected, he felt his wife's entire body on him as she flew straight into his arms and gave him a tight embrace. Her entire weight felt nothing on him, weighing lesser than the sword he carried, but just the same, he grunted in reply. She smothered her laughter on his clothes as she clung to his neck, her face rested on his shoulder. Since he was more than a foot taller than her, her feet dangled above the ground, but she was perfectly comfortable hanging on. Accustomed to her style of welcoming, Sesshomaru wrapped his arm around her slim waist to support her better and nuzzled her exposed neck, inhaling her sweet scent. _

_Ticklish, Rin laughed as she pushed herself back and met her husband's glinting golden eyes. She knew what that glint meant. As an answer, she mischievously gave him a quick kiss on the lips and retreated quickly when he tried to lengthen the kiss, "Did you bring home prisoners?" _

_Women, in other words. Sesshomaru would rather not talk about the troublesome issue at a time when he would much rather enjoy his wife. He almost growled in frustration as he knew his wife would not stop until she received a satisfactory answer. _

_It was common practice to reward his soldiers with the spoils of war, and in most cases, some are taken, some are sold and some are delivered to the palace as servants. He himself saw nothing wrong with it. From the point of view of a ruler, this helps boost soldier morale and state affairs. His wife however, obviously influenced by his time-travelling sister-in-law, has some serious issues with it. _

"_Jaken will take care of it," he replied offhandedly and tried to kiss her again. _

_Rin leant away to avoid his lips and frowned in concern, "What will he do to them?" _

_Sesshomaru groaned inwardly. His lovable wife can be very persistent when she puts her mind to it. And this is one of those times. _

_When Rin first mentioned her concern about it, he didn't think much of it, thinking it was curiosity more than concern. That was until Jaken came running to him one day and reported that his wife was taken hostage by a merchant when she tried to free the slaves bought by the merchant. When he found them, he only meant to take back his wife, but then he smelled her blood and saw a streak of blood on her arm. Injury from a whip. Without another thought, he cut the merchant into pieces. At her request, he also had the slaves set free. _

_Freeing slaves from time to time was not a concern for him, but to not take in prisoners of war at all was rather drastic. Aside from the dissention among affected parties, cutting the supply of slaves for the entire kingdom will cause a huge impact on labor and basically everybody's way of life. Unnecessary trouble was what he thought of it. _

_Sesshomaru stared into her big round brown eyes, his voice stern yet his eyes with a hint of gentleness, "They are a necessity, Rin." _

_Rin pouted and looked downwards, her gaze on his neck. She removed her hands around his neck to place them flat on his chest, her fingers idly caressing as she murmured her disagreement, "but we didn't need them when we were travelling before…and I don't understand why the women should be forced to follow someone they do not know. I followed you because I chose to, and you always allowed me to make my decisions. Why cannot it be the same for them?" _

"_I am not like others," Sesshomaru explained simply. _

"_But my lord, shouldn't your kingdom be a reflection of you?" _

_At that, he fell silent and laughed at himself inwardly. He, Lord of the Western Lands whose might and power cross lands and seas and whose name strikes fear into the bravest heart, cannot win against an argument with his ordinary human wife. _

_He lifted up his other hand to gently tip her chin up and make her look at him, "You do know that I can simply order you to stop arguing with me and let me make love to you." _

_Rin smiled sweetly in reply, "But you won't, will you my lord?" _

_Her husband sighed in defeat and squeezed her affectionately. _

_Knowing she had won this bout, Rin laughed and put her arms around him again, "You are right, my lord. It is tiring to argue with you, and I think I want you to make love to me now." _

_Without further ado, Sesshomaru wedged an arm under her knees and lifted her up in his arms as he quickly carried her towards their chamber. His wife merely giggled in delight as she settled herself more comfortably against his chest. Bursting with love for her husband, she reached out to clasp the sides of his face in her hands and gave him a passionate kiss. _

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru blinked and refocused his gaze on the beautiful panorama in front of him. The sunset casted a beautiful orange silhouette over the sky, its magnificence carried further by the thin layers of clouds seemingly dyed in orange, looking like ripples on the heavens. The quiet river below mirrored its grandeur on its dark depths, slivers of light dancing upon the steady water. The mountains behind were cloaked in a hint of darkness while the shadows played across the land.

Rin would have wanted to see this. She always wanted to see beautiful things.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken called out once more as he finally reached his master's side, heaving in short puffs.

"Everything in order, Jaken?"

"Yes, my lord," Jaken dutifully replied, "the troops will—"

"Good," Sesshomaru interjected, unconcerned about details, "let's go."

"Yes, my lord," Jaken replied unthinkingly, and then carefully, "uhm…but my lord, where are we headed to?"

Sesshomaru ignored the question and went ahead. Confused, Jaken remained in place and scratched his head.

"Keep up Jaken," Sesshomaru prodded, "Rin is waiting."

Upon hearing that, Jaken jerked his head up in surprise and gaped at Sesshomaru's retreating form. In the next second, Jaken sighed and ran to keep up with his master.


End file.
